Bureaucrats say no ring road money next year: MP

THE Federal Labor Government has been caught out on a broken promise on the ring road, according to Member for Dawson George Christensen.

Federal Government bureaucrats admitted in Parliament this week that none of the $4.1 billion for the Bruce Highway, which includes the Mackay ring road, was in the budget for the next financial year.

Mr Christensen said Department of Infrastructure and Transport bureaucrats evaded direct questions for 15 minutes during a Senate inquiry before admitting there were no plans, timetable, nor funding allocation to the Mackay ring road.

"The truth is now out there that the $4.1b promise includes $1.213b for projects that are already under way, which does not include the Mackay ring road, and there will be nothing spent next financial year."

North Queensland Senator Ian MacDonald requested a financial year by financial year breakdown of the $4.1b announcement for the Bruce Hwy.

Department of Infrastructure and Transport Secretary Mike Mrdak replied: "Not at this stage Senator. The government has announced its $4.1b program over 10 years but has not at this stage settled cash profiles for the individual projects that it has nominated for proceeding in Nation Building Two and beyond."

Mr Mrdak said there would be $1.213b in 2012-13 under Nation Building One, none in 2013-14, $1.844b from 2014-15 to 2018-19 under Nation Building Two and $1.094b from 2019-20 to 2022-23 under Nation Building Two

"Julia Gillard said the ring road funding would come from an infrastructure scheme known as Nation Building Two, which her bureaucrats now tell us won't commence until 2014-15, and not next financial year as she led us to believe," Mr Christensen said.

"We now know that the ring road project is stalled before it even gets started because the government failed to fund it."